He is here
by Micelle
Summary: When a weird woman tells Osomatsu that he is haunted by some revenge-seeking ghost of course he is skeptical. However, as each of his brothers started to act violently, he had to think of the possibility of it being true and what he could do to stop it.
1. Chapter 1

It was a fine afternoon for gambling. Maybe because the sun was not too hot today, or it could be that Osomatsu found Todomatsu's coin purse hidden in one corner of the house.

He was not really feeling lucky today, actually there were some things troubling him but Osomatsu swore that this was the best solution to this dark heavy feeling inside his chest. He just knew that if he wins something today he would feel better.

However, even before the race got good he found himself staring straight into the eyes of some weird woman that Iyami brought with him.

Her skin was wrinkled and her hair was silvery white. She was small, 'Even smaller than Chibita.' He noted as he imagined how tall his friend was the last time he saw him out of his shop.

But even more than her appearance the way she looked at him creeped him out. She was staring at him intensely without a single blink of an eye. It was as if she was looking at his soul.

"What even is this?" Osomatsu asked using laughter as a way to steer away from the awkward situation.

"Shut up-zansu! This woman is a well-known psychic so don't you dare laugh."

"So you think your horse will win with her help?"

"Yes. But for some reason she has been staring at you for a while now-zansu."

Osomatsu laughed again. 'Man, is this really weird.'

"Madame, I know I'm charming and good-looking but I had to decline whatever you want to offer me… but if we're talking about a couple of zeros here then maybe I won't mind ignoring a few personal limitations for you."

" A dark soul lingers around you young man. A soul hell-bent on getting his revenge with anger that burns like fire. He is here. Be warned! "

Osomatsu looked at Iyami and saw the same confused look in the other's eyes. He looked back to the old woman and contemplated on what to say next.

"I'm sorry ma'am. But I'm afraid you got the wrong man." Osomatsu gave out an empty chuckle, forcing the air out of the drumming walls of his chest.

"Oh." The old woman's eyes widened, " But it is you. It had already begun young man. He has seen you from the eyes of one of the same faces and he knows you cannot hurt them. He, however, can definitely hurt all of six. Especially you! And he will hit you where it hurts the most. "

Osomatsu finally gave up. This was turning from bad to worse when she had to mention his brothers. He could take all this crap, but the mere mention of hurting his brothers actually got him a bit angry.

"Ok." Osomatsu said, "I'll go home now Iyami. You win this time. You have officially creeped me out."

"You idiot. That was never my intention in the first place. But good riddance!"

Even as he turned away from her he could still feel the burning stare behind his head. She was still staring at him and it bothered him to no end. He just walked away. Gradually, he picked up speed in his steps. Faster his legs went until the next thing he knew he was running away from the stadium.

For some reason he could not stop his legs from running. He was heading home as if it was the only place he wanted to go to right now. He could feel his lungs begging for air with his mouth hanging to breathe. He clenched his chest and only grabbed the piece of cloth he wore. His chest hurts. It already felt heavy before and the running certainly did not help.

 _'It had already begun young man. He has seen you from the eyes of one of the same faces'_

He swallowed and continued to run.

Faster, because his legs wanted to be home right now.

 _' he knows you cannot hurt them. He, however, can definitely hurt all of six. '_

Faster, because he could not wait to see his brothers.

 _' And he will hit you where it hurts the most. '_

Faster, because he was scared that what she told him might actually be true.

.

.

.

It was a few days back — or was it weeks? Osomatsu could really not tell — when this heavy feeling in his chest started.

He was home that time, sleeping in the middle of the day just because he was bored. Osomatsu had days like that when he just did not want to go outside. Sometimes he could sleep the whole day away, a long nap away from responsibilities that could last from sunrise to sunset.

But that time his nap abruptly interrupted when Osomatsu had trouble breathing. He was choking! He could feel someone on top of him with their hands on his neck, gripping until no air could pass through.

Osomatsu opened his eyes and tried to focus on who it was. Of course, he instantly knew who it was.

"Jyushi-" he could barely speak.

Jyushimatsu's smile was replaced by the tight-jawed grit in his teeth. His eyes looked furiously mad. Osomatsu had never seen his brother like this before.

Osomatsu lifted his hands and tried to yank Jyushimatsu away. He squirmed underneath him in an attempt to break free. But Jyushimatsu was strong, even stronger than he expected him to be.

"Jyu—!" Osomatsu tried to call him as he tried to pry his brother's fingers to loosen around his neck.

It was a battle of strength and even if he was a lazy-ass NEET with no interest in whatever sports, Osomatsu never lagged behind. With all his might, he could pull away a finger or few.

"JYUSHIMATSU!" He shouted with whatever voice he had.

Jyushimatsu then snapped with a slight twitch of his head.

"Ah?" Osomatsu heard his brother said.

Osomatsu then pulled Jyushimatsu's hands away from his neck the moment he felt his grip loosened. Osomatsu rolled to his side and coughed. He rubbed his neck as he barked and breathed heavily, making loud wheezing noises in between powerful coughs.

"Osomatsu-niisan! What happened?" Jyushimatsu asked.

Osomatsu was relieved when he heard Jyushimatsu's worried voice. On the other hand, he too had no idea of what happened. His mind started to search for an explanation but he came up empty.

Osomatsu rolled back to face Jyushimatsu. The younger one's brows were furrowed and his smile small. He choked again upon seeing his face like that.

"Can't you remember?" His voice was raspy and it burned when he spoke. "We were playing. I guess I was just too weak for you Jyushimatsu." He still continued to speak and then went on a coughing fit.

"We were?" The younger obviously had no idea.

Osomatsu sat up and faced Jyushimatsu. He studied his face and was certain that Jyushimatsu had no recollection of what he did. Osomatsu rubbed his neck again. He could still feel the ghost of his deadly tight grip on his skin.

Jyushimatsu might believed him. He might had lied his way out of this. But if he were honest with himself, the whole thing alarmed him.

Whenever he thought about it, he would unconsciously rub his neck, as if the pressure and anger of Jyushimatsu's hands were still there. He reached his house and hurriedly slid open the door to run inside. He almost stumbled towards the door, with only his sense of balance to help him stay up.

"What on earth? Is that you Osomatsu-niisan!" Osomatsu heard Choromatsu's voice from inside.

Osomatsu kicked his shoes away and ran inside. "Choromatsu! Choromatsu!" He was almost shouting.

His heart only felt content when he finally saw his brother, the exact same face, staring back at him. The incredulous expression only Choromatsu could make, made Osomatsu happy that was he was finally home.

Choromatsu was in the kitchen with his mom's apron on him. It seemed that Choromatsu was preparing dinner.

"What's your problem?"

Osomatsu swallowed. He did not even notice how hard he had been breathing. His lips pulled into a grin. Everything's normal. No need to panic. "Looks good on you Chorofappsky."

"Ha-ha." Choromatsu answered, "Can you watch over the pot while I peel this?"

Osomatsu half-heartedly agreed, whining to show Choromatsu how this annoyed him.

Osomatsu dragged himself over the stove and watch over the silent pot on top of fire set on medium. For a minute he was tempted to turn the heat on high so that it would cook quickly; but if you're one of the people who will eat this dish, that might not be a good idea.

Osomatsu lazily pulled out a chair and sat in front of the still unmoving but warm pot.

"So Mom's still out?" Osomatsu asked already bored.

"Yes. She asked me to prepare dinner since she might be tired by the time she arrived. I think she'll drop by dad's office on the way." Choromatsu answered, busy with the knife on the other side of the room.

Osomatsu just nodded. "I see, I see..." he answered without real thought into it.

"So what are we cooking?" Osomatsu asked just to get the conversation going.

This time Choromatsu did not answer.

Osomatsu asked again, "really, what are we having for dinner?"

Still no answer.

Osomatsu finally glanced behind, just to be sure that Choromatsu was still there. He did not really hear him go out of the room, so he should still be there.

'Right—?'

A small flash of reflected light passed by his eyes and Osomatsu instantly fell from his chair. His mind was too slow to process what happened but his body reacted.

 **Danger. Danger!**

Choromatsu was charging towards him, knife in his hand. This still had not sunk into Osomatsu yet, but the older Matsuno was still busy defending himself.

Every nerve of his body was on high alert as he tumbled back and away from the chair. His hand was already protecting him and the next thing he knew he felt something cut through his palm and dug in his hand.

When his eyes focused, he finally saw the wielder of the knife… including the dripping blood from his hand. His eyes went towards Choromatsu and was frightened to see that anger distorting his face.

Choromatsu's eyes said it all. He was not himself.

'Fucking shit.' Osomatsu was internally panicking and fearing for his life.

'It happened again.'


	2. Chapter 2

Osomatsu was panicking. His heartbeat was deafening and his mind was having trouble in processing everything. And yet he was still trying to stay calm, focus and think because the more his heart beat, the more blood gushed out of the open flesh of his palm.

He was still holding on to the knife, using his full strength to stop Choromatsu as he pushed forward to him. Choromatsu was never this strong, but then again Choromatsu never wanted to harm him this way.

His own flesh blood was really determined to kill him.

But even so, Osomatsu somehow knew that it was not Choromatsu's fault, and it was all the more the reason why he needed to calm down. He needed to save Choromatsu from whatever was happening to him.

"Choromatsu!" He called out, but even as he talked to his brother it did not work. This was not like Jyushimatsu's case.

Osomatsu calmed down. For now, he needed to overpower Choromatsu in whatever strength he had inside himself.

"I'm sorry Choromatsu."

Osomatsu bent his knees and tried to kick Choromatsu's body with all he could. He released the knife and just let Choromatsu fly back with the force of the kick. His younger brother hit the wall and ended up being unconscious. Osomatsu instantly sat up and grabbed the knife from Choromatsu's hand, he instantly tossed it aside; far away from both of them.

"We're home!" Osomatsu heard from the door. It was Karamatsu and Jyushimatsu. He could instantly tell from the voices.

"Guys! Come quick! Choromatsu fell down!" Osomatsu shouted.

The next thing he heard was the sound of hurried footsteps stomping towards the kitchen. Osomatsu had to check Choromatsu first before he decided that he would be ok with those two coming to help him.

Osomatsu then ran away towards the bathroom and locked himself inside.

The two finally arrived at the kitchen and was shocked to see what happened. Karamatsu ran to Choromatsu to check on him while Jyushimatsu scoured the cupboards for the first aid kit in the kitchen. When he found it, he placed it beside Karamatsu and let the older brother take over.

Karamatsu was silently talking to Choromatsu hoping he'd come to. He looked at the worried Jyushimatsu. "Choromatsu doesn't look like he has any wounds. He's just knocked out."

"Then this is Osomatsu-niisan's?" Jyushimatsu asked pointing towards the spots of blood scattered on the floor.

Karamatsu followed the trail of blood with his eyes, the last one led outside the kitchen.

"Jyushimatsu." Karamatsu gave the order.

"Roger!"

Jyushimatsu ran outside the kitchen and sniffed the air like a dog tracking his brother's scent.

"Osomatsu-niisan!" Jyushimatsu called.

Silky sheets of fresh red blood ran down the drain as Osomatsu cleaned the long and deep gash on his hand. It stung him so he just bit his lip to suppress the sound that his throat wanted to do.

There was also a first aid kit inside the bathroom; living with six rowdy boys pushed their mother to put first aid kits virtually everywhere inside this house. Osomatsu was silently thankful for that.

After cleaning, Osomatsu wrapped the wound in bandages and made sure that there was no blood staining the whiteness of the gauze. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to know about this.

"Osomatsu-niisan!" Jyushimatsu was knocking outside the door. He had finally pinpointed his older brother.

"Yes?" Osomatsu asked. "Is Choromatsu ok now?"

"Karamatsu-niisan said he's coming to. Are you ok in there?"

Osomatsu looked at his bandaged hand. "I'm ok. I just needed to take a dump."

Osomatsu slowly opened the door and gave a smile to his little brother. He pulled his arm inside the sleeves and waved his hands it in front of Jyushimatsu.

"See? I'm ok! Tentacle~ tentacle~"

Jyushimatsu smiled wide and waved his arms as well. "Tentacle~~"

"Let's check on Choromatsu!" Osomatsu said happily.

"Let's!"

The two brothers ran towards the kitchen with sleeves waving in the air. Osomatsu stole a glance at Jyushimatsu, the younger had no clue at all; and that made him glad.

"How are you Chorofappsky?" Osomatsu asked when he saw his brother.

Choromatsu looked fine. No broken bones nor concussion nor any sign of injury. Osomatsu tried his best for it to not show in his face but he was very much relieved.

"What happened Osomatsu-niisan?" Choromatsu asked.

Osomatsu shoved his hand inside the front pocket of his hoodie, quick enough for anyone to notice.

"I dunno. I had this bad stomach ache. You fell down while I was running to the bathroom."

"But there were blood all over the floor. Is that yours buraza?" Karamatsu asked quite suspicious.

Osomatsu shook his head. "I have no idea. I didn't think I was shitting blood…. Just normal shit."

Choromatsu sighed, "you're disgusting. Good thing Karamatsu-niisan and Jyushimatsu arrived. You didn't even help me."

Osomatsu grinned and rubbed his nose with the unscathed hand "Sorry." He said with a light-hearted chuckle.

.

.

Osomatsu observed Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu for the next couple of days, both of them had no recollection of what happened.

The incidents did not stop after that, unfortunately. And the victims did not end with just the two.

The next incident was with Todomatsu.

They were in the bathhouse that night and the five of them, including Osomatsu finished earlier than Totty.

"I'll get him." Osomatsu volunteered since he still had not put his clothes on. He was actually thinking of pulling a prank or scaring his brother once he saw him.

Todomatsu was not inside though when he went back in. Osomatsu looked for him in one of the baths, because maybe he was still in the water.

"Totty!" Osomatsu called, "you still here? Your skin will peel off if you stay too long!"

His voice echoed back from the tiles and bounced from the walls. All he could hear was himself. They went to the bathhouse too late that night that even the other regulars had already left before them.

Osomatsu leaned over one of the baths and submerged his face in the lukewarm water. Who knows, maybe Totty was diving as well.

When Todomatsu wasn't there, Osomatsu started to pull himself up. He was almost out of air.

However, that was when someone pushed his head down.

Osomatsu struggled but the hand was firmly pushing his head on the water. Osomatsu closed his mouth shut and tried to reach behind his head to yank the hand, but his arm was just swatted away.

Osomatsu finally had to let go of the air in his lungs and had to hold in as to not breathe water. But it was futile. He was drowning.

Suddenly he felt the hand freeing his head and he instantly pulled away and sat on the cold tiles on the floor.

"What is the meaning of this zansu?"

Osomatsu was still coughing out water when he saw Iyami holding an unconscious Todomatsu in his arms.

"Iyami…." Osomatsu then coughed again. "We're just playing around… thanks for that."

"Playing around my ass. Ichimatsu was trying to drown you."

Osomatsu stood up and breathed. It still hurts and had to cough out more but he was already better now.

"He's Todomatsu..." Osomatsu had to correct the older man.

"Whatever-zansu. He was still killing you. Is this how you play with each other?"

Osomatsu took Todomatsu from him and carried the youngest Matsuno on his back. "Yep. This is how we play around? Scary huh."

Osomatsu walked away leaving Iyami confused and a little doubtful.

Todomatsu never learned what happened. The last thing he could remember was fainting while in the bath. Osomatsu said that it was just the heat of the water.

Those things happen, and good thing Osomatsu could easily come up with excuses.

.

.

.

There were nights when Osomatsu could not sleep. He worried about Choromatsu and Todmatsu beside him. Jyushimatsu was also near and could easily strangle him. Sometimes he caught himself too aware of where they were or what they were doing.

The cut had healed and did not leave a mark but somehow Osomatsu knew that there might be more wounds his brothers could cause him.

He turned to his side and saw Todomatsu's sleeping face. Unconsciously he smiled as he listened to the gentle quiet snoring of his youngest brother. Totty looked so peaceful at night when he's asleep, unlike the sly dry monster he was when he's awake and unlike the dangerous creature that tried to drown him in the bathhouse.

Osomatsu knew that there might be a time when the others would witness one of their own try to kill him. That there might come a time that he would run out of excuse. But could he really put a such a burden on his brothers?

"Of course not. What kind of eldest brother I am if I do that." He whispered so gently as he patted Todomatsu.

The younger one just muttered in his sleep and turned to face the other way. Osomatsu silently laughed.

So Osomatsu tried his best to not let that bother him. Three out of five, and all attempts failed, surely this would soon end. If it was a spirit or an alien or even a parasite then it must be tired by now.

Osomatsu was always optimistic. Sometimes even for his own good.

That was why when the next few days had became quiet, he let his guard down.

.

.

Karamatsu and Osomatsu went out for pachinko that day. It was so nice to spend time with your brother who did not try to kill you for the past few days.

When the sun started to set and the sky glowed orange to red, the two eldest of the brothers started to head home.

"Maaaan. I can't believe how unlucky we are." Osomatsu whined having lost all his pocket money.

"I used to be lucky… how could I lost so much?" Karamatsu was shaking in despair.

"Goodness Karamatsu. This is all your fault!"

"Why me buraza? Whenever I'm not with you I actually win!" Karamatsu shouted.

Osomatsu stopped. "Oh?" He then smirked and swung his arm over Karamatsu's shoulders. "You won eh? When was that?"

Karamatsu gulped. He could not believe that he just divulged a very dangerous secret to none other than Osomatsu!

"What? Did I say something about winning? I think you're hearing things buraza?"

Osomatsu's smirk grew wider. Osomatsu was actually enjoying this.

"Nope. Heard you loud and clear. I do wonder why I didn't know anything about you winning?"

Karamatsu looked around nervously, trying his best to find something that could divert his brother's attention away from this topic.

"Look burazaaa!" Karamatsu pointed to a building they were about to pass by. "Do you remember how we used to play there?"

Osomatsu actually took the bait this time, half of him was starting to pity Karamatsu's efforts of denying the whole thing. Besides, Osomatsu thought it would be funnier if he brought this up at home with the others to back him up.

"Yes… I do. I remember that was just an empty lot back then."

"Do you remember? We used to play baseball there." Karamatsu recalled.

"Yes. Those days were fun. We all went home dirty and tired and mom would scold us."

"Do you remember when we used to bully Chibita there?"

"Bully is such a strong word Karamatsu. We were just joking… even until now."

Osomatsu finally let go of Karamatsu and just gazed at the building. He could still see it from his memory, the empty space with patches of green and the cement tubes where they could easily hide inside. They were really happy with such simple things.

'So nostalgic… but we better go back now.' Osomatsu thought with a sigh, as he noticed how dark the sky was slowly turning.

"So Osomatsu… do you remember that time Tougou dragged you out here in the middle of the night because you were going to tell Mom and Dad about him?"

Osomatsu found that question a little bit alarming but he still answered it.

"Yes. I guess it was there where it happened…" Osomatsu then laughed, "that was _so_ long ago I could barely remember."

Osomatsu then froze.

It was not something he ever told any of his brothers. After Tougou was taken by the police they never talked about him or the incident ever again. The whole ordeal was so frightening to him that as much as he could, he did not want to recall any of it even when they grew older. In the end, most of the details of what happened to him and Tougou were kept secretly by Osomatsu.

So no one could know _that_ information. Well... no one aside from him and —

Osomatsu slowly turned to Karamatsu, eyes already wide and heart starting to feel fear.

"It has been a while…" Karamatsu's voice was different. Karamatsu's eyes looked at Osomatsu differently from the way his younger brother usually looked at him.

Osomatsu swallowed hard as if fear itself manifested and turned into a rock that was stuck in his throat. He stared at the person with him. Even if they were not Karamatsu's eyes, he knew deep inside who these eyes belonged to.

"Osomatsu-kun."

His name sounded poisonous in Karamatsu's tongue.

"Tougou-san?" Dread laced Osomatsu's voice when he spoke his name out loud.

"I am glad that you still remember me, because I never forgot _you._ How a mere child like you turned me in and how my life started to plummet to hell after that very incident. I remember it clearly... **It was all your fault.** "

It was agonizing to see Karamatsu acting like that in front of him. This was not his brother. His brother, his Karamatsu, would never exude such malice and hate for him.

"Say, Osomatsu-kun? I wonder what you would feel if this precious brother of yours kill you right here, right now. Can you kill him first before I kill you?"

'Of course not.' Osomatsu thought, biting his lip, 'you think I could hurt Karamatsu to save myself?'

Osomatsu looked at Karamatsu's face and felt that it was no longer the same as his. He could clearly see it, the man who hated him until after his death. But somehow, more than pain or fear, Osomatsu was starting to feel something else.

It was anger.

" **Let go of him.** " Osomatsu was barely whispering, his rage shook his body but he could not do anything about it. He could not endanger Karamatsu any further.

"I will." Karamatsu then suddenly stepped closed to Osomatsu, wrapping his fingers around the older brother's neck. "After you join me in hell."

Osomatsu gripped Karamatsu's arms. "Kara—" he said in a voice so thin it barely went out. "-ma—-"

Osomatsu saw that despicable grin he hated ever since he was young. This was not his brother's smile.

Karamatsu lifted Osomatsu until his shoes barely touched the floor. Osomatsu struggled for air even more but the choke just went tighter.

He was almost losing consciousness. He was failing to comprehend what was before him because of lack of air. To die in Karamatsu's hands was the last thing he wanted, to put the burden of his blood on his guilt was something someone like Karamatsu would never be able to live with.

'Karamatsu…' Osomatsu thought, 'it's not your fault...'

Osomatsu weakly lifted up his hands and placed it on Karamatsu's head.

Even if his mouth just wanted air the whole time, he still managed to pull his lips in a small smile, his eyes followed suit as well to show a smile to his brother.

'It's not your fault.'

The world then dimmed and Osomatsu slowly lost consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

"Osomatsu-niisan."

"Osomatsu-niisan, wake up please."

Osomatsu pushed himself awake to the sound of his brother's voices. He opened his eyes and was faced with the worried faces that matched the voices he had heard in his sleep.

"What happened?" He feigned ignorance.

"You were unconscious. Can't you remember anything?" Karamatsu asked, "I blacked out myself. The last thing I remember was walking with you then after that… "

Ichimatsu then grabbed Karamatsu's clothes. He pulled him so harshly that even the others were surprised by it. "If you were with him then you should've known what happened."

"Whoah." Osomatsu stopped by grabbing Ichimatsu away. The last thing he wanted was for them to fight. "Calm down. Karamatsu also blacked out."

Osomatsu then turned from Ichimatsu to Karamatsu in order to get more information. He needed to know what Karamatsu could remember, "what happened next? What can you remember after that?"

"I saw you on the ground. Your neck was awful. I brought you here. I'm sorry. I know I should've brought you to the hospital but I panicked." Karamatsu's voice went from explaining and then sliding into a more agitated tone very quickly.

Osomatsu held Karamatsu's hand and gave it a squeeze, ceasing the explanation as well as the slight tremors brought about by his distress.

"I'm fine now aren't I?" Osomatsu said with a grin, "thanks Karamatsu."

Karamatsu finally eased his breath.

"So what happened then?" Choromatsu was the one to ask this time.

Osomatsu looked at Choromatsu and saw that little raise in his brow. He really had to bullshit his way out of this one and he needed that bullshit to be good if he wanted Choromatsu to believe him.

Osomatsu braced himself.

"I don't know." It was the best he could come up with.

.

.

Osomatsu was an optimist. He wanted to be someone that could laugh at every single thing this cruel world threw at him. He was never alone anyway so one way or another, if he could not solve it, someone from his five other siblings would rise to the occasion and everything would be fine again.

But this time, none of his brothers could help him with this and he would do everything to stay that way. Since things were not looking up he had to force his butt out of the house and look for someone else to help him out of this.

So, the next day Osomatsu decided to search for Iyami and that old lady that freaked him out.

.

.

Osomatsu was not really sure where the man lived now. He and his brothers had robbed him before to the point of living under the bridge. But Iyami was a genius fellow, surely he had managed to con a house out of someone.

He tried the race track first but they weren't there. He wasn't also under the bridge. The day ended with no luck or clue in finding the man.

Osomatsu went back to the racetrack every now and then on the pretense that he'd be gambling; but he didn't care much about his bet now, he was far more concerned where to look for Iyami.

Osomatsu had been extending his search. If only he knew the address to the black factory — which he really couldn't remember for some reason— then he might have gone there.

Osomatsu sat on a bench in the park. Exhaustion finally claimed the man. He silently just sat there, letting his physical body rest while his still mind still worked on the list of places where Iyami could be.

Osomatsu had a can of cold beer that he drank, as he watched the children play. The couple of boys were annoyingly noisy and were too energetic. Osomatsu smiled, when they were their age they were more annoying and more energetic than those boys.

Suddenly Osomatsu's sight was taken from him when someone crept and covered his eyes from behind the bench.

"Who is th—" The playful gesture was cut off when Osomatsu shouted and pulled away, brazenly turning to the culprit behind him.

The scream scared Todomatsu even more than he intended to surprise his older brother.

Osomatsu could feel his heart about to jump away from his chest. Haunted by the choking feeling of his brothers trying to kill him, he could only let his instinct run wild.

"Todomatsu!" The shout was fierce and angry. Osomatsu barely had control.

Todomatsu winced away, he did not know what he did but he did not like Osomatsu shouting at him like this.

Osomatsu paused when he finally saw the look in Todomatsu's eyes. The paranoia, troubles and exhaustion he had been harboring inside himself suddenly came out in full burst that he inadvertently scared his little brother.

"Todomatsu…" the name was softer this time. Osomatsu tried to laugh. He peeked at Todomatsu and made the laugh louder.

'See Totty, there's nothing to worry about.' He thought, proving it to himself even more than to Todomatsu.

"You scared me! Why would you do that." Osomatsu said in between the loud laughing.

Todomatsu felt relieved by his laugh. After watching Osomatsu laugh more he finally relaxed.

"I didn't thought you'd react that way!" Todomatsu felt guilty by what he did, he seriously thought he got him mad. But of course, he'd rather die than admit that.

"Ah I was just a little jumpy. I was surprised..." Osomatsu placed his palm on his chest, his heart was still banging even though he sounded calmer now. "Just...reaaaaaally surprised."

Osomatsu then stretched out his hand to him, "Let's go home then." He offered.

Todomatsu pouted and purposely ignored Osomatsu. He was still a little bit annoyed by what happened, thinking that his older brother was trolling him.

Todomatsu walked ahead of Osomatsu and so the latter was just forced to put his hand down.

The whole way home he was just looking back at his little brother. _It was still him right? He was still his little brother? He wouldn't attack him right?_ Those were the thoughts that surrounded him all the way back home.

.

.

Osomatsu imagined himself shaking his head to do away with such thoughts. _He's not afraid of them. He was not scared of them. These are his brothers._

But the doubt had been planted. The fear instilled in his deepest consciousness. Even though it was Tougou's spirit that really had a grudge on him, he could not shake the thought that his own brothers had done this to him. The very image of their faces, the same face they share, looking at him with such hatred and murder made him weak with sadness and fear.

.

.

"These are my brothers. They are my brothers." He murmured the thought with tears flowing in his eyes. He could feel it, his presence towering over them with those dark eyes just waiting for him to let his guard down… and maybe this time finally do him in.

.  
.

Little by little, Osomatsu could not even bear to be alone with any of them. He used to enjoy their presence but now behind every slight movement Osomatsu would be cautious. Too cautious… to the point of even running away.

.  
.

When it was just him and Ichimatsu inside the house, he'd run out and do something. Ichimatsu wouldn't even ask.

When he comes home with just Choromatsu there, Osomatsu would quietly leave without even a single word. Sometimes Choromatsu would notice.

It was tiring and seriously Osomatsu was burning out. This was really hard for him and slowly he was missing his brothers so much that he just wanted to break down and cry, or to explode in anger until all emotions leave him be.

. 

'This is silly.' Osomatsu thought. He rose from his seat at the bench in the park and stretched.

Time to start his search again.

"I see you've been looking for me young man."

Osomatsu's eyes opened wide. IT WAS THE CREEPY OLD WOMAN!

"AH! You're just here! ALL THIS TIME?!" Osomatsu shouted pointing at the woman. "Where's Iyami?"

"The problem with you young man is that you're searching for someone else and not me. I see you've disregarded my warning and it had turned into a problem now. I sense regret?" The woman inquired.

"Shut up. I'm handling it very well." Osomatsu had yet to admit defeat in front of this old woman.

"The fear is there so obvious in your eyes. You're scared of all of them now. You miss them so much."

"SHUT UP!"

The old woman furrowed her brow at the question. "You really want me to?"

Osomatsu instantly pulled back the reaction, his eyes tormented, "No. No… I'm sorry." This wasn't his nature. He did not want to show this "weakness" at all.

"What do you want me to do?" Osomatsu sound defeated.

"We must know who we're dealing with first. Come."

.

.  
.

Osomatsu took a long drag of his cigarette, the smoke brushing from within numbed his senses for a bit. The woman's room was just as smokey if not even thicker that breathing one cigarette even felt fresher than inside _that_ room.

Osomatsu watched the smoke being carried by the wind to the reddish sky. Everything looked rusty and red and heavy while Osomatsu was alone in that roof.

Osomatsu pressed the cigarette butt on the roof and flung it away to the ground. It didn't even make a sound when it was discarded.

Osomatsu sighed and continued to stare at the sky.

"Oh. You were here Osomatsu-niisan?"

Osomatsu was surprised. He did not anticipate any of his brothers to be here. He decided then that since he was finished smoking he might as well get out of the way.

Ichimatsu watched Osomatsu stood up from his seat and went to his direction with every intention of going inside.

"I didn't get to see a single cat while I was here. I bet you'll be luckier." Osomatsu said giving him a pat on the shoulder as he passed by.

"You could join me?" Ichimatsu said in a grumble, the younger one was being shy.

"Thanks." Osomatsu was actually tempted with the offer, "but I have other things to do. Maybe next time."

Ichimatsu then gripped Osomatsu's shoulder. "I said.." He then pulled Osomatsu and with all his strength threw his older brother in front of him. "join me, niisan."

Osomatsu slid on the roof, barely reaching the edge.

"Tougou!" Osomatsu spat. "Let go of my brother!"

Ichimatsu smiled as he walked towards Osomatsu. He loomed over the older with eyes dark and grin even darker.

"Or what?"

Ichimatsu then swung his leg towards Osomatsu, kicking him hard on the gut. Osomatsu embraced himself and coughed. The older brother leered at Ichimatsu. Ichimatsu actually waited for his comeback, Osomatsu would not lie there defenseless especially when Ichimatsu was actually weaker than him.

Except he didn't.

Ichimatsu laughed. Osomatsu wanted to fight back but if he did he would hurt Ichimatsu. The moment's hesitation opened a window for Ichimatsu grab his red clothes and punch him in the face.

"You can't fight me." He landed another hard one on his body, "I'm your little brother." His fist connected with his face yet again. "You'd die first before you can bear to lay a finger on me."

Ichimatsu bent down and picked Osomatsu by the collar pulling him up and to his feet. Osomatsu saw the sick look of disgust that Ichimatsu would never have for him. Through the pain and pulsing ache of his bruises, Osomatsu felt a new kind of pain growing deep inside his chest.

"Ichimatsu?" Osomatsu pleaded to the man in front of him, his adorable little brother, "you're in there aren't you?"

Ichimatsu's eyes softened and looked dearly at his brother "Osomatsu-niisan? What—"

Osomatsu was already started to feel hopeful, but even before he could capture the emotion the evil spirit of the man he once called Tougou-san flashed back into his little brother's face.

"Oh fuck. I won't let you!" Ichimatsu screamed at himself.

Osomatsu hastily stepped forward, Ichimatsu was almost back but Tougou overpowered him once more.

He had hate for one and love for another, and with that in mind he could clearly see which feeling was for whom. Osomatsu could clearly distinguish it now, the difference between any of his brothers' and Tougou's eyes.

"Ichimatsu! Wake up. It's oniisan. Listen to oniisan!"

Ichimatsu hissed at Osomatsu. "I'll kill you!"

The old woman had said something about this. How these incidents would likely to happen if Osomatsu was alone with his brother and how Tougou's spirit was only becoming more and more powerful in Osomatsu's presence.

Ichimatsu bent and held his head, pulling the strands in a fist as if suffering from a terrible migraine. Ichimatsu was fighting himself and Osomatsu could see it. Ichimatsu was trying to regain control. This had never happened before and somehow Osomatsu was feeling more positive than before.

But Ichimatsu caught the hope in Osomatsu's eyes and was enraged by it. He then charged forward, body slamming onto Osomatsu.

Osomatsu was taken by surprise and even let out small "oooff." He was pushed back with the force and could barely stop even as he reached the edge of the roof.

"Ichima— wait."

He then slipped and lost his balance. He fell and his hands instantly searched for something to hold on to. His fingers landed on the edge and held on to it with his life — quite literally too.

"ICHIMATSU!"

"Osomatsu-niisan?!"

Osomatsu's painful screech seemed to have awoken him.

Osomatsu hurriedly asked for his brother's help. He didn't know up until when Ichimatsu would be himself, so until Tougou was not in his eyes Osomatsu urged him for help.

"Ichimatsu! Help! Hurry!"

But Ichimatsu didn't move anymore.

Osomatsu could not discern Ichimatsu's face anymore and could barely make out what he was intending to do or whether it was still Ichimatsu in there. But if he's really out to kill him then it would just be too easy to crush his fingers on the edge and watch him fall.

However, Ichimatsu then took another step. Closer and closer, he was nearing the edge.

Osomatsu tried to pull himself up but he just could not lift his body all the way up. He did not like how this looked and he wanted to do something to stop it, however he was powerless in this state.

Suddenly Ichimatsu leaped and Osomatsu was not ready for that at all. But even though he was taken by surprise, he still managed to get a hold Ichimatsu's hoodie sacrificing his one hand to let go of the edge in order to grab hold on to his brother.

"Osomatsu-niisan… what is happening... " Ichimatsu's voice trembled, finally he woke up. "Why are we here?"

This was what Osomatsu should really fear — the time when he's not the only one that could get hurt. Instead of going after him and letting him fall, he made Ichimatsu jump. Whatever his reasons were Osomatsu did not care about that now, what mattered was that he had Ichimatsu in his grip and they must find a way to get out of this shit.

Osomatsu's fingers were starting to feel numb but he kept his grip strong. "Ichimatsu. Don't worry, ok? Everything will be fine."

"Osomatsu-niisan… I'm scared."

"Oniichan's got you. We'll be fine." Osomatsu said with a wink. "Ok… I'll try to swing you. You, try to jump inside through the window."

"Are you insane? I'm not Jyushimatsu! I can't do that." Ichimatsu protested.

"Yes I am insane! But trust me, we could do this. Cats are supposed to be agile Ichimatsu." Osomatsu could barely feel his fingers, on both hands. Bruises were not even an issue here, he bet his hands would look terribly awful after all this. That is, if they survive this whole ordeal.

"Ok… on the count of three. One?"

"Wait. WHAT! Osomatsu-niisan please!"

"Two."

"How about you?"

Osomatsu did not really think that far ahead. 'Oh well.' The count was already ending and what mattered was that he could save Ichimatsu.

"Three."


	4. Chapter 4

Ichimatsu was hurled through the open window of their room, where he came in rolling on the floor with the momentum of Osomatsu's throw. Before he was able to even stop, he used his arms to instantly stand up, and without missing a beat he stumbled on his legs as he hastened to go back to the roof.

'Osomatsu-niisan's still up there. I have to help him!' He thought, worrying about the brother who was left hanging on the edge of the rooftop and oblivious to the fact that he was the reason why they were there in the first place.

Osomatsu still dangled at the same place where he was, but now he finally was able to use both hands to support himself. The muscle in his arms burn in pain from hanging there for a while, but he could withstand that in order to survive. He looked down and started to think of how to get down himself. He thought about the hundreds of possibilities that would happen if he let go.

"OSOMATSU-NIISAN!" Ichimatsu shrieked followed by the loud heavy footsteps.

Osomatsu was surprised, and somehow scared, when he saw Ichimatsu back on the roof peeking at the edge and looking at him The younger instantly grabbed onto Osomatsu's arm and yank it up. Osomatsu did not let go yet though. He swallowed as he realized that his whole body just did not want to trust Ichimatsu's grip on him.

"Ichimatsu, you idiot! I threw you inside so that you could be safe and now you're back here?!" he shouted in outrage.

Ichimatsu knew pulling his his arms won't do, so he sat on the roof and planted his feet on firmly in between the grooves. After he did, he started to pull with all of his weight, grunting as he did, and shutting his eyes only to focus on this single task.

"Just shut up Osomatsu-niisan. Don't worry, I got you."

'You got me huh.' Osomatsu thought with a resigned smile.

"...that's exactly what I'm worrying about." His voice was hushed, barely a murmur.

Osomatsu felt the small tug, it seemed stable but not quite enough to pull him up. He tried to pull his body up as well, in order to help his little brother, but his arms were just no good. The only thing Osomatsu could ask from his muscles now was to keep him attached to the roof.

Osomatsu was tired. Not only his arms, but also his whole spirit was simply exhausted from hanging on the roof, from constantly worrying about Tougou's spirit and for all the anxieties that bothered him that seed from the distrust he felt with his brothers.

'Wouldn't it be easier to just let go?' Osomatsu asked himself, 'I'll just fall.'

But falling was not the problem, it was the landing that worried Osomatsu a lot; and from the hundreds of possibilities his mind could come up with, most of the outcome looked grim and felt painful.

.  
.

"What on earth! OSOMATSU-NIISAN?!"

Ichimatsu and Osomatsu looked at the entrance of the house to where the shout came from, as they had suspected only Choromatsu could do that shrill voice of reprimanding panic.

"What are you standing there for! HELP ME!" Ichimatsu shouted as loud as his throat could manage.

Choromatsu instantly rushed inside, dropping his bag of loot on the floor without a second to delay. He ran up the stairs and urgently went to the roof. When he got there, it was exactly what he saw downstairs. Not a prank or some joke. Osomatsu was hanging on the edge of the roof and Ichimatsu was pulling him up. Reasons and explanation could wait for later, right now he wanted nothing else but to see Osomatsu safe!

Choromatsu went beside Ichimatsu and grabbed onto Osomatsu's other hand. Like Ichimatsu, he too planted his body firmly on the surface of the roof and pulled with all his weight. With the two assisting him, Osomatsu managed to hoist himself up even without help from his burning dead tired arms. Eventually he tumbled down on top of the two of them, his arms spread as if in an embrace to the two who had saved him.

"What..." Choromatsu panted, he could still hear his heart beating wildly from all that, "...what happened?"

Ichimatsu lied on the roof, catching his breath so hard that he could not even answer.

Osomatsu pulled away and sat properly to watch his brothers. He was happy that they helped him, that even if they were not that strong they still managed to pull him up. He could not even say anything — he was simply happy.

"Thank you. Ichimatsu, Choromatsu."

Osomatsu looked at his hands just to confirm that they really did look horrible. He knew he had a cut somewhere when he held on the roof but he didn't realize that he was digging through his wound the whole time. His skin opened like a red purplish flower in bloom with wounds dark and fresh. It stung when he opened and closed it. He knew he needed to clean them before they were infected, but knowing how dirty the roof was, they probably already were.

Osomatsu looked at the two once more. Choromatsu had actually already caught his breath and ready to interrogate when he first noticed Osomatsu's hands.

"Osomatsu-niisan… your hands." Choromatsu then looked at Osomatsu as a whole, "Never mind that.. your face!" Choromatsu said hysterically.

Osomatsu touched his face and instantly winced at the lightest touch. He didn't really realize it but Ichimatsu did quite a number on him. Only then did he feel his ribs throbbing, he was certain that he had bruised underneath his clothes.

Ichimatsu wondered what happened and without any intention to, he looked at his hands and to the reddish skin of his knuckles. He tried to flex it but they somehow hurt a bit.

It was only a matter of putting two and two together, "Osomatsu-niisan did i—"

Osomatsu noticed Ichimatsu's distress, so he instantly sighed loudly to get both of their attention.

"I guess I better clean them before it gets worse." Osomatsu said while standing up. This discussion was over for now and Osomatsu needed time to think of an excuse for this one.

.  
.

The two elder of the brothers went downstairs while Ichimatsu stayed inside their room. He thought to himself, trying to recall what just happened in the roof. A large piece of the event seemed too hazy to remember. But whenever he closed his eyes and forced to recall, something was stopping him to remember.

He dug deeper. But even if he still couldn't remember what happened yet, a strong emotion was already persisting from the memories. Ichimatsu was already scratching the surface when the door opened and from it Choromatsu entered.

"Where's Osomatsu-niisan?" Choromatsu asked. With a bag of ice on one hand and the first aid kit on the other, his eyes scanned the room only to find Ichimatsu the only person there.

Ichimatsu stood up and leaned to look at the window. "There he is."

Choromatsu ran to the window and saw Osomatsu running away.

Ichimatsu took a big breath and shouted, "Osomatsu-niisan! Come back!"

Choromatsu was surprised to hear Ichimatsu shout. He, on the other hand, just shook his head and gave Ichimatsu a pat. He didn't want to bother with Osomatsu's weirdness. He's old enough to know what he was doing. "He'll be back when he's hungry. That idiot won't go far."

But Ichimatsu was terribly worried. Mainly because slowly, he was remembering what had happened up there and he did not like it one bit.

He flexed his hands and when it hurt he wondered how hard was the hit he landed on his own older brother.

.

.

"Ow. OW." Osomatsu had to react through the pain. His wounds were finally treated and his bruises iced. "Can you be a little more careful?"

Osomatsu ran away, but he never really had to go far, there was nowhere else to go to anyway. The only place he believed to be safe was the house where the creepy old woman lived. His lungs regretted everything though, as the place was stinking with incense that protected them from spirits and other creatures; but at least here he was sure that Tougou could not reach him, and thus, could not reach his brothers.

"I talk to spirits boy, not treat wounds. If you don't like what I'm doing come back to me when you're dead." The old woman spat.

Osomatsu pulled his bandaged hands. Somehow they felt better now than they were a few moments ago. His face also had started to swell and every time it ached he had to place the ice bag on top of it to numb it cold.

"Thank you." Osomatsu said shyly, too shy that he could not even look at the old woman.

The old woman just nodded and contently took her pipe and smoked, adding to the thick cloud that hung around the room.

"So what happened to that friend of yours… you told me you'll ask him about the evil spirit too?"

Osomatsu looked up from his hands. After learning who was this spirit, Osomatsu remembered that he was not the only one involved in that incident in the past. What he meant was Chibita, the kid who also had a hand in catching Tougou back then. But Osomatsu shook his head in response.

"Apparently he's safe. He had no encounters or threats at all. Tougou only wanted me."

The old woman blew another puff of thick gray smoke from her thin lips. "I see." She then tapped her pipe on her black ashtray. "Shouldn't you be phoning right now? Or would you rather after dinner?"

Osomatsu then remembered and slightly jerked his back straight, "Ah. Thanks… but how did you?"

"Psychic. Remember?"

A chill ran down Osomatsu's spine. This woman was really creepy.

.

.

Night came and dinner was served and Osomatsu still had not come home. All five of them were already in their room and just wasting the night when their mother came inside. All heads turned to her at once.

"NEETS, your brother just called and said that he'll be staying at some friend's house. Is everything ok?"

Karamatsu looked around, somehow waiting for someone to answer. When he noticed that not even Choromatsu looked like he would respond, he stood up and answered, "...yes I think my buraza had mentioned that before. Rest well mammy. He's fine."

Matsuyo sighed in relief and believed that behind that painful acting, Karamatsu was telling the truth. She then bid them all goodnight and headed to her room as well.

"Looks like he won't be coming home then." Choromatsu had no hint of worry in his voice.

Karamatsu then sat beside him and shook his head. "I'm worried. Where could he be?"

"Maybe he's at Chibita or Hatabou." Todomatsu's fingers then tapped rapidly at his phone, "there. I left them a message. If Osomatsu-niisan's there —"

Todomatsu's phone then beeped the sound of a new message. "Oh. he's not there?"

"Osomatsu-niisan doesn't have any more friends." Choromatsu said as he started to list the people they could be friends with but as quickly as he listed them he had to scratch them off.

"Iyami's his friend." Jyushimatsu suggested and Todomatsu was already on it.

"I don't think he's there as well." Ichimatsu whispered but everyone heard.

"If it's because of the incident on the roof I think Osomatsu already forgave you there buraza." Karamatsu assured.

All of them were already told of what happened earlier, with Choromatsu telling everything from the moment he arrived home. They also asked Ichimatsu about it but the fourth son did not share his part of the story.

But now, upon hearing what Karamatsu said, Ichimatsu looked sharply at him, gritting his teeth in annoyance. "You don't understand."

Karamatsu's smile then faded and Choromatsu felt the hostility in Ichimatsu's aura. Both older brothers did not know what to say next.

Ichimatsu could see the mixed emotions they had on their faces and wondered if it was the right time to speak up. Osomatsu, his eldest brother, could be in danger and if he let this stay in the dark then the roof would be nothing compared to what might happen next. Ichimatsu hated to be the one to start this but he had to, for the sake of his brother.

"I…" Ichimatsu started to speak and paused.

There was an internal battle where the hesitation to speak was fiercely trampled upon by the feeling of wanting to save Osomatsu. Ichimatsu hated these atmosphere but he would break through it if he could have his brother near him again.

"...I can remember what happened. At first it was hazy but now I remember everything."

"What happened?" Karamatsu felt a sudden shiver when he asked. Somehow he was afraid of the answer he had not even heard.

"I heard a voice and the voice told me… no… ordered me... to hurt Osomatsu-niisan."

"And did you?" Todomatsu had to put his phone down, this got his full attention.

Ichimatsu clenched his fist and stared at his knuckles. He closed his eyes and the images flashed behind his lids. It was mostly Osomatsu's face, his eyes were tormented between pain and anger. Ichimatsu could see him shouting, calling his name. Once or twice it slipped passed through that sinister voice inside his head. Ichimatsu wanted to respond and to apologize for hurting him, but the voice would pull him back inside the darkness again. Ichimatsu remembered how suffocating it was for his voice not to reach Osomatsu no matter how many times he called his name and apologize. But what hurts the most was the fact that he could feel all his attacks landing and connecting to his body, all the while seeing Osomatsu hesitating to fight back.

"You've seen his face right? I did all that." Ichimatsu said to Choromatsu. His voice calmer than his inner demons.

"Tha— that's just outrageous. Are you saying that you hurt Osomatsu-niisan because some voice told you to?" Choromatsu answered unbelieving his claim, making Ichimatsu glare at his older brother.

But Ichimatsu knew that this was unbelievable, if the tables had turned and someone from his brothers told him of the same thing, he might had been angry.

Jyushimatsu then raised his hand and Ichimatsu instantly looked at the younger brother.

"I also..." Jyushimatsu gulped, "I think I also heard it. I've even had nightmares about it."

Because he also had something to say about this matter, he would not let Ichimatsu take all the blame alone. Besides, hearing something like that gave Jyushimatsu some kind of strength.

"In those nightmares…" Jyushimatsu paused. His eyes looked down and up to Ichimatsu again who simply nodded to urge him to continue.

He did not like this at all though. Just the thought of it made him sick and if he continued this, he knew that the nightmares would come back stronger than before.

"I had my fingers wrapped around Osomatsu-niisan's neck and I was squeezing it tightly." He said, motioning his hands with the same grip he did, "The voice told me to do it! And even if he couldn't breathe anymore I still kept on squeezing." His voice broke in the end, and his eyes showed distraught even if his lips were still in an open smile.

No. That was not a smile anymore. He was already suffering inside.

Everyone looked shocked. Karamatsu looked worriedly at Choromatsu. Both older brothers were stunned.

Jyushimatsu stared at his hands. Somehow he could still feel the fragile neck of his brother on his palms. He shook and crumbled when he remembered vividly how Osomatsu looked at him. He was suffering as he was trying to remove Jyushimatsu's hold on him, but even if the younger knew he was dying, the grip only went tighter.

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO!" Jyushimatsu screamed and in an instant Ichimatsu was beside him. "I did not want to hurt him. I wanted to stop but my hands were not listening to me and— Ichimatsu-niisan… I swear I would never hurt Osomatsu-niisan. I love him! I love him so much…. I-I—"

Jyushimatsu buried his face on Ichimatsu's chest as the older tried to soothe him in his arms.

Jyushimatsu sobbed, his cries stopped only to slip tiny sounds of "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to… I'm sorry." To which Ichimatsu responded by gently saying, "there there".

"This is really troubling..." Choromatsu tried to remain positive. "Don't worry we know it's not your fault guys. Right Karamatsu-niisan?"

"Brothers!" Karamatsu suddenly shouted, unable to take all of this, he also wanted to confess, "I lied about blacking out."

Choromatsu's mouth hang open. 'Even Karamatsu!'

"But the truth hurts so much I simply did not want to accept it. When Osomatsu himself, defended me, I felt really awful." Karamatsu bit his lip, terrified to say more. But he had to! If his two little brothers could tell them the painful truth then he should too.

"I was choking him. With all my strength I was determined to rid of him his last breath. But unlike you two who had to force to recall what happened or had nightmares about it. I saw everything… clear as day."

Ichimatsu glared at Karamatsu, a different reaction from the one he gave Jyushimatsu. "You lied?" the fourth of the brothers growled.

"How could I tell the truth! Even Osomatsu himself looked so certain in forgetting that it happened. When I was strangling him… he even smiled at me and looked at me…. **Forgiving me** even before I could apologize." Karamatsu swallowed, preventing his voice from breaking, "How could I tell the truth after that? It would hurt him more."

"Ignorance is bliss…." Choromatsu just muttered. "And in bliss we assume the others are ignorant."

"But if… that is true…" It was now Todomatsu who spoke. All this time he was just quiet in one corner, observing in terror what was happening to them. "Then…I..."

Todomatsu was mortified when the realization sunk it. He instantly regretted speaking up. He looked at his older brother's eyes and realized that it was too late, "I tried to drown him. Oh my god. How could I not realize that that was real?!"

Todomatsu had started crying even before anyone could react to what he said. Karamatsu went to him wrapped his arms around the younger brother.

"What about you Choromatsu-niisan?" Todomatsu's voice was pitchy with his sobs, "have you done nothing wrong to Osomatsu-niisan… please tell us!"

Choromatsu bit his lips and closed his eyes tight. He was much like Karamatsu, scared to declare the truth even though he knew it very well and saw it clear as day. He could remember that voice well, echoing deep inside his consciousness, telling him one thing and one thing only: Kill. **Kill** .

He closed his eyes and remembered the flash of the deadly knife, the look in Osomatsu's face, the blood in his hands. He had seen it and still chose to fool himself and he had been so good in fooling himself…

...but since it had come to this he had no other choice but to come out and tell the truth.

"I need to tell you something guys…."

.

.

Osomatsu snapped awake and realized his lungs were finally getting used to the thick smoke around the house. Somehow if ever this all ends wells Osomatsu was sure that he would at least suffer some kind of lung disease.

"I was sleeping?"

The old woman was watching television as she smoked when she turned to the boy a bit, but she instantly looked back at the screen. "You were. For around two dramas and a half."

"I see. Sorry if I'm a burden." Osomatsu apologized, slumping on to the table with his body that felt too heavy than usual.

"If I kick you out you'd have nowhere to go to. Might as well have a roof above your head."

"Might as well…" Osomatsu then smiled a bit, thinking what his brothers might be doing at this time of night. "At least they are safe… and that's all I can ask for."

"If you think that they would be safe just because you're here then you are mistaken." The sound of the show served as background noise for her croaky voice.

Osomatsu lifted his head and looked perplexed, "but don't my presence make the spirit stronger? So if I stay away from them, Tougou won't be able to hurt me here and they won't be possessed."

The old woman turned the television off and looked at the young man.

"My boy. The rules of the living are different from the rules of the dead. Our logic won't always work on those who had passed away… we'll only know for sure once we become part of their realm."

Osomatsu looked even more confused, "that means we could be wrong?"

"I only said that your presence makes the spirit stronger… but that is because he feeds on his hate back when he was still living in order to attack and get a hold of your brothers."

"Wait. Wait. Wait." Osomatsu was starting to worry. He could literally feel his heart pumping inside his chest. "So you mean… he doesn't even need me to exist?!"

"We may never know."

Osomatsu stood up, outraged at this discovery, "and I thought you were reliable! Now what should I do?! What if something happens to them while I sit around here waiting for lung cancer to kill me."

Osomatsu paced around, when he got tired he sat crossed leg on the floor and grumbled.

"What do I do now? Should I call them?" Osomatsu was just talking to himself, while the old woman just stared.

But in the middle of all that, someone suddenly burst through the door and ran inside. The two looked at the new approaching guest — it was Iyami.

From his face alone, and that sweat on his brow, it looked like bad news.

"You shitty NEET! Come quick! Your brother is in the hospital!"


	5. Chapter 5

Osomatsu waited behind the fire exit door, sitting on the stairs and fidgeting like mad.

They arrived so late that visitors weren't even allowed to enter the premises anymore. But Iyami was a crafty guy and had smooth-talked his way inside until they got to the Matsuno room.

And yet when they got there, Osomatsu could not even get himself to open the door and see his brothers for himself. So in the end, Iyami came in alone and Osomatsu waited by the hidden staircase.

Iyami peeked behind the fire exit door through the small window and saw how miserable Osomatsu looked. He found these brats annoying all the time, but somehow seeing him like that made Iyami pity them as well. He couldn't even think of something witty to say to him or something funny that would put his mind at ease so Iyami held off his teasing.

Iyami opened the door and came in. There was no need to delay this any further.

"Osomatsu," Iyami called and in an instant Osomatsu looked up to him, his eyes anxious. "So yeah… Ichimatsu was the one confi— ."

"What happened to him?" The eldest asked even before Iyami could finish. He did not even care if Iyami had a history of failing to tell them apart. He was sure of Iyami's accuracy.

"One of your brothers went on a rampage-zansu and got Ichimatsu seriously injured. Fractured bones, concussion, he even had a fever when he was brought in here. He's still under observation and the doctor asked him to stay the night. He'll be discharged tomorrow."

Osomatsu was still worried even though Iyami slipped in that hopeful thing at the end of the dreary news. But who could blame him? _'_ One of your brothers went on a rampage _'_ it could only mean one thing and he was so sure it was that.

The door then opened again and the two looked at the intruder. From the small opening came in Ichimatsu, completely fine despite the bags under his eyes.

"You got the wrong brother again Iyami." Osomatsu accused, standing up with a voice that sounded harsher than intended.

"It was Karamatsu that got badly hurt." Ichimatsu answered, knowing well what Osomatsu wanted to know, "Calm down, Osomatsu-niisan." He added, knowing well what Osomatsu was feeling.

Osomatsu's back hunched again. His body actually ached a bit because of suddenly standing. It seemed that his previous injuries had not healed yet, but he did not want to show it, not when the one who gave him the said injuries was standing in front of him.

"I'm ok Ichimatsu." Osomatsu said as gently as possible, "so won't you tell oniichan what happened?"

"It was Jyushimatsu who went wild. He suddenly attacked all of us, but Karamatsu was the only one who could stop him."

"Jyushimatsu is pretty strong… good thing Karamatsu was there." Osomatsu felt proud to hear that. Because at times when push came to a shove, Karamatsu could be dependable.

Ichimatsu looked down and clenched his fist. "In the end Jyushimatsu calmed down not without getting hurt himself."

Osomatsu was looking at Ichimatsu the whole time. He shook as he talked about what happened and Osomatsu could somehow imagine the events that transpired through Ichimatsu's eyes. He saw how Jyushimatsu's expressions turned grim and how he got all violent. He could also somewhat see Karamatsu protecting everyone of them, using his body to shield the younger brothers. Karamatsu might had a hard time in stopping Jyushimatsu when he was so careful in not hurting him, thus would explain why he was in here.

Ichimatsu's eyes showed the strong emotions that he had concealed behind his quiet demeanor and it told Osomatsu even more than words could.

"It must had been terrifying to see that." Osomatsu stepped forward and gave Ichimatsu a light pat, "I'm sorry for not being there."

Ichimatsu looked up, his eyes teary while he shook his head. He embraced Osomatsu, to which the older twitched a bit from the slight sting of his broken ribs when Ichimatsu's arms enveloped his body, "It was so scary. I've never seen Jyushimatsu like that. I didn't know what to do. I was too scared to even move."

Osomatsu embraced him back and let the younger cuddle inside his arms. He looked at Iyami and slightly gestured for him to go. Iyami understood the situation and left the two.

Osomatsu finally let his brother go, just in case the situation sunk in and Ichimatsu got embarrassed.

Ichimatsu let go as well, but his eyes wandered at how Osomatsu looked. Osomatsu's face was still a bit swollen and when he hugged him be had felt Osomatsu wince. Ichimatsu then saw his hands, now covered in bandages and he knew that all of this was his fault.

"That scary thing … seeing Jyushimatsu like that already frightened me. I can't believe you had to endure that again and again."

Osomatsu was a bit surprised by that, but instantly accepted it. "You knew huh."

Ichimatsu nodded, "all of us became aware of it one way or another."

Osomatsu looked up and scratched his head. "And I was so determined to save you all without you guys noticing… like a hero on a special mission."

"It's impossible to hide things like this from us Osomatsu-niisan."

Osomatsu simply smiled. That was one of the things he actually liked about being a part of the sextuplets. They just knew things. If he couldn't hide this from them, they too could not hide anything from him and somehow even if that sounded creepy, it was good.

The two finally went inside the room. Ichimatsu led with Osomatsu quietly following behind. On the table near the door Osomatsu saw a vase full of flowers.

"Chibita." Ichimatsu answered, his eyes were on Osomatsu the whole time so he could easily tell what the older brother wanted to ask even before the words formed inside his mind.

"Ah. Osomatsu. You finally came."

Osomatsu looked towards the voice and as expected Karamatsu was sitting on top of the white hospital bed. His head was bandaged as well as his left arm. Jyushimatsu was sleeping on one side and Todomatsu on the other. On a small sofa near the wall, Choromatsu tucked himself to sleep.

They were all here.

Osomatsu walked nearer while Ichimatsu sat on the floor near Choromatsu. Ichimatsu tucked his legs to him and watched the two carefully.

"How are you?" Osomatsu asked.

"The fever's gone but my arm needs some time to heal. It's nothing serious. I think I'll be able to go home tomorrow."

Osomatsu's hands wandered to Jyushimatsu. The usual happy Matsuno obviously cried himself to sleep. It was an image that brought pain in his older brother's heart, because Jyushimatsu could never hurt anyone out of hatred. He was their ball of sunshine whose smile lighted up their days. And yet Osomatsu could never forget that he was the first to attack. If only Osomatsu had taken that seriously he wondered if he could have prevented all of this to happen?

"Of course you'd be ok. This is you we're talking about Karamatsu." Osomatsu said in jest, his attention back to the main patient "Like a stain you just can't remove no matter how many times you wash it and wash it again."

Karamatsu just smiled. "Did I leave a nasty stain inside your heart burazaa?"

Osomatsu laughed silently so as not to wake the others up. "If that's the case then my heart must be pretty nasty with all of your stains."

Ichimatsu just watched from afar as the two talked. He was a bit drowsy with his eyes blinking and head nodding to sleep, but somehow he wanted to stay awake. He wanted to keep watch what was happening in front of him, to stay alert just in case his brothers needed him.

"Maybe I should stay the night as well. I wonder if the floor's not too cold."

"Isn't Iyami waiting for you though?" Karamatsu asked, knowing well that Osomatsu must had asked Iyami to check on them beforehand.

"I'll just tell him to go home without me."

"I see." Karamatsu nodded, "but are you sure you'll be staying here for the night?"

Osomatsu furrowed his brows, "what is this? Are you telling me to go?"

Just then this laid-back conversation had to be disrupted and Ichimatsu then snapped awake, feeling something wrong in the air. He could sense it. Something was here, or rather, _someone_.

"Kusomatsu." Ichimatsu said, standing up and warning Karamatsu.

Karamatsu merely nodded in acknowledgement and turned to Osomatsu once more.

"I'm afraid so Osomatsu. I'm really sorry but you really need to go because..."

"He's here." Ichimatsu said with terror in his voice.

Choromatsu also sat up, wide awake, muttering in horror, "He's here."

Jyushimatsu's eyes opened wide and he sat straight up, looking around and gripping the sheets of Karamatsu's bed. "He's here."

Finally Todomatsu woke up as well, he shook as he saw Osomatsu in the room with them. He shot a look at Karamatsu and instantly knew that he was not alone, they all had sensed it.

Todomatsu stood up, gripping his beanie tight, "I can hear him. AH! Get him out of my head."

"Todomatsu." Choromatsu went up to their younger brother and held him on his shoulders for support.

Ichimatsu's eyes roamed wildly around the room, his teeth were bared and body hunched ready to attack the invisible threat that caused them all this.

"Run Osomatsu-niisan!" Jyushimatsu called and in an instant Osomatsu headed towards the door.

The door however swung to a close and shut them all inside. Osomatsu could not even turn the handle. Chibita's vase then tipped over, causing a loud crash of ceramic to fill the room with more panic. He was truly here and Osomatsu had no other choice but to face him.

"Tougou! Where the fuck are you? Show yourself you fucking coward!"

A chill ran down Osomatsu's spine and the hair on his skin stood with a shiver creeping underneath. He felt something cold from his back, crawling up his spine to his shoulders until his ears felt like ice.

"Are you sure that's what you really want? Osomatsu-kun?" He staggered when he heard that voice whispered in his ear.

Osomatsu jumped forward, touching his ear. The voice sounded eerie and hollow. It was near his ear but sounded like miles away.

Osomatsu gripped his clenched fist tighter and whipped his head around, seeing the panic in his brothers' faces. "Can't you just go away? How much hate must you have to be this strong?"

Todomatsu suddenly stepped forward, pulling himself away from Choromatsu, "Hate is a very strong word. It is true that I existed from my hatred for you but it's not only this hate that I feed on."

Osomatsu looked at Todomatsu, his younger brother's expression devoid of that fear and panic he had a while ago. "Do you even wonder why and how I easily manipulated all of them?" Todomatsu asked with a slight grin.

"Don't you dare wear his sly smile **you monster.** " Ichimatsu grumbled charging forward but was instantly stopped by Choromatsu. He easily understood since they had all learned from Jyushimatsu's incident.

They were wary and on their toes just in case Todomatsu became violent and hurt anyone, but at the same time they also had to consider Todomatsu's welfare. As much as possible they would want that no one got hurt.

"Because..." Todomatsu continued as everyone just watched him, "they too were harboring hate that you would not even believe. It was just so easy to feed on them all the while using them to hurt you."

"Shut up!" Karamatsu shouted, "you do not know what you are talking about."

"That is not true Osomatsu-niisan." Jyushimatsu instantly tried to establish.

"Like I said…" Todomatsu then looked down and when he lifted his head once more his eyes were teary and his lips quivered, "I hate you Osomatsu-niisan."

Todomatsu's voice was soft as it shook ever so slightly. It was without a doubt, especially in Osomatsu's head, that it was his little brother currently talking to him.

"I tried my best to be a better person and all the time you always had to ruin it. Do you know how hard it is to carry all of you especially _you?_ How much do you have to ruin my life in order to be happy? I hate you! I hate you!"

Osomatsu froze. He understood what was happening. This was just Tougou. Everything that Todomatsu said was not true. However, Osomatsu knew the likeness of those words to be true. "So maybe…" just maybe, there was a possibility. But if it was true or not, "I'm sorry…." was the only response he had.

"Oi Todomatsu! That's enough." Choromatsu said gripping Todomatsu by the shoulders, when his little brother faced him he saw that he was already crying.

Todomatsu was biting his lips as hard as he could that it almost bled. With his eyes flowing with tears, he slightly shook his head. Tougou had already left him with the damage already done.

"I hate you too Osomatsu-niisan." Jyushimatsu said enthusiastically being the next one, "You're selfish and lazy but you're still proud of it. It's disgusting."

Osomatsu turned to Jyushimatsu, but was surprised when Jyushimatsu covered his mouth.

"It's really disgusting." his mouth said as soon as he released them. "I hate you." he said through his fingers.

Jyushimatsu covered his mouth tightly and shook his head, his eyes showed how much he regretted every word. But regrets could only come too late when the words had already slipped and hang in the air for everyone to hear, and the damage too potent for anyone to realize when it was already too late and Osomatsu was already hurt.

Osomatsu could not even betray himself when all his emotions appeared on his face too vivid than ever before. He just had too much already. He was too exhausted and had become too weak that he could no longer hold up whatever facade he had been playing all this time.

Jyushimatsu had been crying as he covered his mouth. He wanted to apologize but was too scared that his mouth might spew such vile words again. He looked at Karamatsu in the hopes of comfort but the bandages around his head and arm only reminded him of the damage he had done. He had hurt them too much. It was all so awful.

"I ha—" Ichimatsu had already realized it that even before he could say anything he ran away to a corner and covered his mouth.

To the words of the old woman, _'hit you where it hurts the most.'_ and in consideration, after all that happened these must be the worst things that could hurt Osomatsu.

"Ichimatsu…" Osomatsu called to him, daring to take a step closer to his younger brother.

"Get away from me!" Ichimatsu shouted and Osomatsu did not know whose words they were.

Ichimatsu keeled over, his eyes teary and beads of sweat formed on his brows. His face showed nothing but anguish and pain as he tried to stop the command from the spirit that was attempting to control him.

"No…" Ichimatsu grumbled biting his lips until they bled.

Ichimatsu's words may be muffled and hard to discern but Osomatsu felt what he was fighting for. He remembered how Ichimatsu embraced him him just a moment ago and felt the fear and sadness in the weakened arms that held him. Ichimatsu had always been trying his best for himself and for all of them, that was why to see him like this — to hurt him like this was just too much for Osomatsu to bear.

"Don't fight anymore Ichimatsu… it's ok, oniichan can handle it. Don't…" Osomatsu's voice broke in the end and as he heard it he cursed to himself for letting such weakness slip by. He must be strong for them. "Don't hurt yourself anymore please." But as he said those words tears ran down Osomatsu's eyes. He just could not hold it at all and he cursed himself even more for it.

Osomatsu shook his head and wiped the tears away. And during that time Ichimatsu stood up, lips bleeding and eyes filled with tears he said "He's transferring!"

Everyone in the room looked at Choromatsu and instantly the third brother knew that he was next. Ichimatsu was already running to him in order to stop him.

But.

"I hate you Osomatsu." It was Karamatsu who spoke, sitting up straight on his bed.

Ichimatsu glared towards Karamatsu, he got the wrong man. Of course, it was only natural for them to go by order of birth, no matter how miniscule the time in between them, they were somehow wired to do that but then again they shouldn't really expect other people to respect that order.

"Walking around like you're the head of the family just because you were born ahead of me, when you have nothing to prove worthy of respect." Karamatsu spoke, each word a heavy knife stabbing through Osomatsu's heart, making the older lower his gaze in shame with the truth of such words. "You are a worthless scum —"

 _Bam!_ Something then hit the wall. Because before the number of wounds Karamatsu could inflict on his brother increase he had to take matters into his hand.

Osomatsu lifted his gaze and looked at Karamatsu. The injured brother was panting, eyes still squinting from the pain, but had stopped speaking nonetheless because he just hit his injured arm onto the wall with all his strength breaking even more the already fractured bones.

"I wont... " Karamatsu said, having a hard time to speak through the throbbing pain, "...hurt you again oniisan. Through words or through actions. Enough is enough."

"You are a worthless scum who wastes every single day of your life just by existing." Choromatsu then continued, the spirit unfazed by the interruption.

Ichimatsu continued to charge Choromatsu but the elder just slapped Ichimatsu away. His palm hitting Ichimatsu's face sounded so sharp and loud that it was to no surprise that Ichimatsu fell on the floor just from the impact, with his cheeks red and starting to swell. Todomatsu ran to his side and helped him sit on the floor.

"I had a job. I was starting to be independent. I was starting to live my life the way it should be lived but you didn't want that. _You_ had the nerve to show up and drag me down this hell once more."

"Choromatsu-niisan..." Todomatsu tried to stop him, finally recovering from what happened. "You didn't mean all that? Right?"

" **Shut up** **Todomatsu**." Choromatsu glared and Todomatsu instantly hushed, "You know as well as I do how hard it is to look for a job and finally start feeling good about yourself because you're finally an adult... only to be ruined and dragged down by this piece of crap we call our older brother."

"But Osomatsu-niisan… just didn't want to be alone. He loves us." Jyushimatsu tried to reason, somehow unsure of how to look at this situation, it really felt like it was Choromatsu talking.

"And that makes it ok for him to continue ruining our lives? What the hell." Choromatsu then looked at Osomatsu, "I am so sick of you being clingy. I am so sick of you being around me all the time. I hate that you are stupid and constantly dragging us down with that fucking shit eating grin. I hate you. **I loathe you.** "

"I know." Osomatsu finally answered, his heart broken too much already. "I know Choromatsu. I understand."

Choromatsu was surprised, "and you still had the nerve to smile? You human scum."

"That is enough!" Karamatsu shouted. "Let Choromatsu go!"

Osomatsu turned to look at Karamatsu, "It's ok Karamatsu, niichan is fine." He assured before walking towards Choromatsu.

Chromatsu stepped back though, preparing to fight back if Osomatsu really had finally snapped.

"There is truth to every word you guys had told me and maybe that is the reason why it hurts like hell in here." Osomatsu clutched his chest. "And I understand quite well where all these are coming from. I am a human scum. I am clingy. I am worthless and I do drag you down all with me."

Osomatsu then picked Ichimatsu up from the floor and smiled painfully at the younger brother. He then gave Todomatsu a pat on the head. "But you guys love me despite all my shortcomings and I love you all for that."

Osomatsu then looked behind to peek at Karamatsu, wondering if his arm would still be fine after all this. He hoped deep inside his heart for the speedy recovery.

"That is why, Tougou-san. If you really want revenge, and if you really want to be stronger there is only one person whose hate you need."

Osomatsu finally reached Choromatsu and slightly touched his brother's cheeks, Choromatsu flinched but got to be touched nevertheless. The younger's eyes softened and instantly tears flowed from his eyes.

"Mine. My hate."

Tougou had finally left Choromatsu and almost instantly Choromatsu fell into pieces from where he stood. He had heard everything and was hurt a thousand times more. No amount of apology could undo what he did..

Osomatsu let his eyes wander, knowing that the spirit was still in the room, floating and waiting for his next move.

"You see them and you know instantly what I mean. How they cry for me. How they hurt themselves. No matter how much they hate me you know that they can overpower that hate. That is nothing compared to how much they want to protect me.

But I'm different. I hate myself to the point that I can no longer cry and hope for that feeling to change. I loathe myself more than anyone in this room. Even more than you."

"You just want to protect your brothers. Stop it with this bullshit." A haunting voice whispered in his ear, passing Osomatsu by with a grazing chill.

"Yes. That is true. I don't want you to involve them any longer. I don't want you to hurt them." Osomatsu then smirked, "but if you look inside my heart you will know it to be true. These things I said… you can easily check that."

"Osomatsu, don't do this." Karamatsu was already worried from the start.

"Leave it to me, please."

Osomatsu then looked up, "So Tougou! What the fuck are you waiting for? I'M HERE. TAKE ME. Feed into all my hate and hurt me until yours dry up! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR, YOU COWARD!"

A strong wind then burst from the outside coming in through the windows they all swore were closed a moment ago. The curtains wafted against the wind and some of the brothers had to shield their eyes from strength of it.

Karamatsu covered his eyes with his good arm, just so he could peek at Osomatsu, still standing in the middle of the room.

"No… niisan… no." Choromatsu whispered, praying that Osomatsu had a plan. Osomatsu would never risk himself without a plan. He just had to have one, right?

When the wind had stopped and everything had settled, Osomatsu smirked.

'He had a plan all along.' Choromatsu smiled, "Osomatsu-niisan. You did it….?"

Osomatsu felt his ribs and looked at his hands. The smile grew wider, more wicked than the last. And when Osomatsu felt his face with eyes wide and with a poisonous smile, Choromatsu knew that he had hoped too much.

"Osomatsu… niisan?" Ichimatsu dared to confirm.

Osomatsu grinned at the younger, but his grin felt different from any they had ever seen.

Osomatsu would never look at them with eyes intending to kill.

"I am here."

These words were too simple, too small for anything out of the ordinary, but it destroyed all hopes the brothers had to protect their eldest. These three words, spoken in the simplest of voices, caused nothing but great fear into the hearts of the five.

Tougou had finally succeeded and all of the younger brothers had never felt a chill as cold as this in their entire life.


	6. Chapter 6

When she lifted her son's face she could barely recognize him. His lip was swelling, so as his right eyelid, black and purple colored his face and blood dripped from the deep cut under his jaw.

Osomatsu could see his mother's eyes on the verge of crying, biting her lip and scolding him in order to regain control of her voice. He knew she was trying her best to be strong, to not faint because she knew he needed to be treated and fast.

"Who did you fight this time?!" His mother's voice was screaming. "I'll call their mothers up right now and tell them what happened. Tell me! Who did this to you?"

Osomatsu already had an answer. His face was a clear image in his mind, and clearer was the scene of what happened to him just moments ago. Just thinking about it brought fresh tears to well up in his eyes, but he had been done crying. He had been crying for hours before he mustered up the will to stop crying and to go home. He spent all that time crying in pain all alone just so he could stop himself from shedding more tears in front of his family.

He tightly clenched his fist and he managed to stop his tears.

However, with just thinking about him the actual culprit was summoned. Their lodger, a middle-aged man two-faced and cruel, emerged from the opened door.

"So you're here? I was looking all over for you!"

"That's true." His mother mused, "you were with him right?"

Tougou scratched his head, "yes we were together but the boy suddenly ran off after I bought him some ice cream. I was looking all over for you, what happened?"

His mother explained what she saw when Osomatsu came home, while the man reacted appropriately to her every word. He looked concerned. Fuck you. He looked alarmed. Fuck you. He looked like he wanted to talk to Osomatsu as well.

"That's really terrible. Osomatsu-kun, tell us who did this to you?" Fuck you.

But the young Osomatsu had been too scared to defy the man. He knew that if he rat him out, he would hurt all his brothers and even kill his parents. When Tougou looked at him and placed a hand on his shoulders, Osomatsu was scared stiff.

"I didn't saw them." Osomatsu answered, "besides, I started the fight mom. It was my fault. I'm sorry."

"It was my fault. I'm sorry." Tougou had engrained this into his head until Osomatsu-kun believed it to be true. Everything had been his fault. He was weak and powerless, and Tougou had always been stronger than him and more cunning than him. There was no way he could ever beat a man like that.

But he did. With Chibita's help, he did. The police had taken him away and Osomatsu could finally go back to his care-free days.

No one else had gotten hurt as much as he did and when Osomatsu was younger he had always thought that it was unfair, that no one else endured what he had gone through. That no one else experienced the torture and the nightmares that came after. He often asked himself, why him?

When he grew up though, he finally learned the answer.

.

It's because amongst your brother you were the most useless." Tougou was residing inside his body. The evil spirit that had been tormenting them all this time had finally managed to control the boy he tried to manipulate a long time ago.

"It's because I was there. It could've been anyone." Osomatsu sat up and faced him, looking away from the memories of his painful youth.

"But it was you and I regret that it was you."

"Was I too sly for a man like you?" Osomatsu asked, grinning.

Tougou then stepped forward, grabbing the younger man's chin and forcing him to face the source of all his childhood nightmares. Tougou's nails dug in Osomatsu's skin, his fingers trembled as he gripped even tighter.

" **You** have no idea how much shit I've been through because of your little stunt. I died like a dog in the streets penniless and homeless."

Osomatsu could barely move his mouth with the tightness of Tougou's grip, but he glared at the man with all his hate, "Serves. You. Fucking. Right." Osomatsu tried to spat at him with with all the venom he had been saving for him from all those years that he had hurt him and threatened him.

Tougou was surprised that Osomatsu had grown up to be a young man that had this much gall to threaten him, and it might had actually worked too if not for one little thing that had slipped Osomatsu's mind: Tougou had won.

.

Osomatsu was possessed. The thing that they had feared had happened. Now Tougou can easily hurt him now. They had to do something and they had to do it now!

Ichimatsu quietly approached from the side. Osomatsu's eyes weren't on him and he was as silent as cat that he might be able to attack without him noticing.

Jyushimatsu kept his eyes locked on his older brother. He was still careful and actually feared to hurt him at all but this was an emergency and Jyushimatsu would do anything just to get Osomatsu back.

Jyushimatsu kept Osomatsu's attention, letting Ichimatsu gain a few steps closer. But Choromatsu's eyes suddenly turned to his direction and instantly it revealed Ichimatsu's plan.

Osomatsu's eyes took a peek at Ichimatsu and knew what he intended to do. Osomatsu then glanced at the vase that contained Chibita's flower and pushed it to fall on the floor.

"You naughty little children. You never change do you?"

Every single one hated that Osomatsu's voice was like this. Just the pure malice in his voice was enough for them to convince that this was not their brother.

Osomatsu then picked up a large shard from the broken vase on the floor. He grinned as he pointed the sharp edge to his neck. The brothers all paused.

"One move and I might slip my fingers. I know we're already in the hospital but I swear to you, if you try to stop me I will make sure Osomatsu-kun won't be needing any doctors at all."

"Let him go!" Karamatsu tried but that only made Osomatsu push the shard a bit, breaking his own skin and drawing blood. Karamatsu fell silent.

Osomatsu smirked. It looked like everyone got the message. He then started to walk backwards, feeling what was behind him with his free hand. He reached for the door and walked out, closing it and making sure it was locked before he left them all.

Everyone stayed from where they stood, shaken and unsure of what to do. It even took a bit of time when Choromatsu breathed, "let's follow him." It was only then that they all started to move.

.

Osomatsu locked the door when he reached the rooftop of the hospital. Osomatsu grinned from ear to ear when he saw that the railing were not as high as he initially thought. It would be troublesome if he needed to climb.

Osomatsu looked at the sky beyond the railing. It was dark but the moon loomed overhead and the stars sparkled from afar. It was a wonderful night to die.

"You know Osomatsu-kun, hell isn't so bad." Osomatsu walked slowly. "You'll be with me and I'd watch you suffer for eternity. I'm already looking forward to it."

Osomatsu was about to step on the railing, was about to jump, was about to die when someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him back as much as he could.

"WHAT THE! Who dares!" Osomatsu struggled free and turned to the man who stopped him. To his surprise it was none other than Iyami.

"What the heck are you doing-zansu?!"

Osomatsu rolled his eyes. This idiot should be taken care of immediately.

"What are you doing boy! I told you to hold him down!"

Osomatsu tensed from the voice alone. This one would prove herself to be more problematic than Iyami.

The old lady's hands were pressed together with beads that wrapped around her wrist. She looked dead serious as she started to murmur something below her breath.

Osomatsu's body suddenly felt ten times heavier than usual, bringing him to his knees. Iyami, under the old lady's instruction, grabbed Osomatsu's wrists. The younger man struggled.

The dark walls were crumbling around them, revealing the light from behind the darkness Tougou had engulfed Osomatsu's soul with. The old woman's power were felt inside Osomatsu's body, with the smoke starting creep around them and making Tougou suffer.

Osomatsu was on the ground flat on his back with body pinned and hands restrained by the man sitting on top of him. Although Tougou was screaming in pain he still had the strength to keep the young man down.

"Swallow the bitter taste of defeat scum. She'll pull you out of here and drag you to hell in no time." Osomatsu was not resisting at all, even at such a position he could still enjoy the sight of Tougou suffering.

"D-Don't act so cocky boy." Tougou said through gritted teeth. "This is why I hate you. You pampered selfish brats that grew up with everything given to them."

"Is that why you do it? What is it then? Bad childhood? Poverty?" Oosmatsu kept on asking, "is that why you tortured me and hurt my brothers?"

Tougou's sweat trickled down his brow, dripping on Osomatsu's face. He leaned in and looked at the young man who ruined his life. There was nothing but dark malice in his stare and Osomatsu could feel it heavier than all the weight he put down on him.

He didn't even know what he wanted to hear from him. Did he want Tougou's humanity? Did he want to hear the man repent? To apologize?

"I robbed because I was poor." Tougou's mouth slowly twisted into a grin. A grin so sickening that Osomatsu wanted to look away and puke, "but torturing you? Hurting your brothers? That was just pure enjoyment. Hurting little boys like you was fun."

His saliva stringed in between his teeth like venom. He was a snake. He was the devil. And Osomatsu knew that man was as poisonous as he looked.

Osomatsu squirmed under the man. He was disgusted. There was no humanity in there. No chance to be a better person. Nothing to forgive. Tougou was sick and Osomatsu really wanted to puke.

But Osomatsu's struggles finally bore fruit when Tougou screamed and gripped his own hair. The old woman's voice was starting to sound stronger inside Osomatsu and the smoke, her presence, was thickening around them. Osomatsu managed to throw Tougou off of him and scampered away.

When he finally had a chance to flee, Osomatsu threw up. The sick feeling in his stomach and the acid in his mouth were something he'd never thought he could feel in here. He wondered if his body — his physical body— threw up outside too.

Judging from how the smoke was becoming thicker and Tougou's screams were becoming louder, Osomatsu could try his best to hold out until this evil spirit was banished completely from his body. He knew he could trust the creepy old lady. She had been right all along. He just needed to hold out and endure this until the end.

Then Tougou laughed.

He cachinated with malevolence dripping with every burst of laughter in the air. Osomatsu wondered and worried if Tougou still had something up his sleeve. Was he still winning?

"That fucking old hag!" Tougou screamed. "I can't believe that an old hag could be this powerful."

Osomatsu prepared for the worst. He could not put down his defenses at all considering that this was Tougou he was stuck in here with. He looked at him warily, staring at his every move, noting every small detail from the beads of sweat on his brows to the breath he choked on.

"Scared Osomatsu-kun? You should be… you know that even if she sends me to hell. I still win."

"What d-do you mean?" Osomatsu swallowed, making sure that there was a good distance between them.

"I broke you didn't I?"

Osomatsu closed his mouth and breathed hard through his nose. It has slipped. Tougou had stayed long enough inside his body that his memories and anxieties had already slipped. And he had been so careful too.

"Even without killing you I've had my revenge." He said, and Osomatsu could not understand how a man crouching in pain and obviously suffering could look so frightening.

"Your brothers had abandoned you. I see now that what you said was no bluff. You really do hate yourself you poor poor boy!" His laughter ensued and Osomatsu could only bite his lips.

Endure it. He must endure it. Just a little more.

"I can't believe that I've broken you enough that you grew up to be an utterly useless scumbag piece of shit." Tougou seemed so happy for someone being exorcised. "You are handiwork! My legacy!"

Osomatsu's lips trembled while his knuckles turned pale from the tight clench of his fist.

"So that's where the hate came from. They really got sick of you didn't they?!"

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW! YOU SICK OLD MAN. JUST DIE ALREADY. FUCKING DIE. GO TO HELL! "

The smoke around them thickened until grey completely blinded Osomatsu. The smoke covered Tougou and he could hear nothing but the old man's scream. Osomatsu was panting, his breath heavier because of the smoke that he inhaled.

Tougou's scream combined with the maniacal laughter sounded worse than any nightmare Osomatsu could ever had and he knew he'd have nightmares about this in the days to come.

Osomatsu's breaths were shaky and he stood frozen in his place until slowly Tougou's scream started to vanish. Slowly. Trying his best to endure. Surely. Tougou was no more.

The smoke cleared and no one else was there aside from him. The dark walls gone as well.

Osomatsu let go of the heavy air inside his chest and sighed with relief, his shoulder relaxing as he breathed out.

— and yet suddenly, someone pulled him back, hands covering his eyes and in a growling whisper he said, "I am here."

.  
.

The old lady fell on her knees as Osomatsu had stopped fighting Iyami's hold. It was over. She had finally managed to send that annoyingly persistent maniac of a spirit to hell.

The door of the rooftop clicked open and from it stumbled Osomatsu's brothers, even Karamatsu was there, bandages spotting with blood. They all looked worried and on the verge of tears. As soon as they saw their brother on the ground, with Iyami panting beside him, they all scrambled to their feet and ran to their oldest brother.

'The rules of the dead are different from the rules of the living.'

The old lady then heard in terror and looked at Osomatsu with wide eyes. She tried to stand up again. It was not over. "This boy."

Osomatsu screamed, accidentally hitting Iyami with his fist. Iyami instantly got to his feet and was about to hold on to the young man when Jyushimatsu bounded and sat on Osomatsu. Ichimatsu grabbed Osomatsu's legs and pinned them down with all his weight while Choromatsu and Todomatsu grabbed each of his arms.

"NO!" Osomatsu screamed painfully. His eyes in tears as he tore his voice with his loud screeching.

"What is happening?" Karamatsu asked the old lady. He wanted to help as well but knew that the others would get angry if he hurt himself more.

"I don't understand." The old lady answered. "The dead had already left him, but the darkness looming over him is far stronger than before. What is all this hate?"

Karamatsu looked at the old lady, and if not for the situation before them, he would've marvelled at her poetry. Maybe next time.

"What should we do? What should I do?" Karamatsu asked. "I want to help him."

The old lady looked at Karamatsu. She had seen so many thing in this world and beyond but this was still a lovely sight to see. They all were different and she could feel it in her old bones, but similar all in all, although it was not their appearance that were the same. No, it was not as trivial as that. She could see past that. She could see their hearts.

"His thoughts are dark and clouded but I will pave the way. Talk to him." The old woman suggested.

Karamatsu nodded and ran towards them.

.

The darkness that engulfed him was stronger than Tougou's, as it had been residing inside him all along. The walls that had crumbled when Tougou vanished was replaced by a wall that he had created himself. He sealed himself inside it, constricting himself until his chest felt heavy. His self-hatred manifested like a dark shadow inside of his heart and no matter how much he tried to ignore it, the tightness inside his chest was making it harder to breathe.

How many times had he heard himself say sorry? How long have he been apologizing?

"Osomatsu…" His mother told him a long long time ago, "apologize to your brother. Say sorry." She scolded him.

Osomatsu looked at his brother. He was the same age and they both were crying, but it was only him that his mother had pulled away and had a word with. At a young age like that, he never understood why.

"Why should I?" He asked, because usually when he asked for something there was an acceptable answer.

"Because you're the eldest."

'But we're the same age.' But Osomatsu did not retort after that. He accepted that answer.

But Tougou came to his life and that was when he learned that the more awful people were, the less they apologize. Tougou singlehandedly ruined everything Osomatsu knew about in life.

Tougou beat him up because of the tiniest mistake, he hurt him and even if he apologized the torture never ceased. The young Osomatsu could not understand why he was being punished and could not understand even more why he was never forgiven even as he had already apologized. He said 'sorry' to Tougou so many times already that it almost lost its meaning.

Again, "Because you're useless." was the answer Tougou gave, an answer that even a child understood.

Osomatsu had carried that for the rest of his life.

.  
.

He had lost count of how many times he had said sorry to each and every brother, that he could not even differentiate the things he did on purpose and the things that he accidentally had done. As long as he said sorry, he could pull pranks and tease his brothers. In the end they forgave him.

On the night of Choromatsu's farewell party, Osomatsu kicked Jyushimatsu and had ruined the mood to the point that Karamatsu had to step up and bring him outside to calm down.

Osomatsu never apologized. Not to Karamatsu, not to Jyushimatsu. Not to Todomatsu whom he sent a punch to his soft face, not to Ichimatsu whom he vent out his anger on, coldly ignoring him the whole time. Not to any of them, and definitely not to Choromatsu.

He knew that the worse the offense was, the harder it was to apologize. He thought this was the reason why people like Iyami or Tougou never apologized. Instead of bowing down to his brothers, he did the easier thing. He ran away. He just numbed himself, and waited for this thing to pass. He had done many times before and it worked every time.

But that never meant that he liked what he did. Even if he got his brothers back, the things he slipped by, the things he pushed aside, it had always haunted him by the end of the day. His hate for himself grew. Even more than the nightmares he had after the Tougou incident, the ugliness of his heart haunted him more.

"I am so sick of apologizing. Do I have to apologize every single time? Just because I'm the eldest?" Osomatsu asked himself.

"That is exactly why I hate you. You useless piece of shit. Your selfishness sicken me" Osomatsu answered.

The wall around him slowly started to move closer. He would squeeze himself, further and further in until probably his last breath.

"I hate you."

.  
.

He had endured his brothers trying to kill him. Sure, he knew that it was someone else who used them to hurt him, but deep down inside Osomatsu accepted it. The pain was real. The fear was real. He had never apologized for his most atrocious offense and it felt like words has lost their meaning, so maybe if his little brother succeeded in ending his life it could serve as an apology.

Maybe his death was the best thing for them. Besides, everyone hated him — even himself.

"OSOMATSU!"

Osomatsu looked up when he heard his name carried by the voice he knew so well. He heard the poundings behind the wall and could smell the incense and cigarette from inside. Someone was trying to get in.

"Osomatsu-niisan!"

"Niisan!"

He heard their voices. The brothers he tried to protect but had to hurt and shame because of his useless self were calling for him in a tone of desperation.

"Osomatsu-niisan!"

They were calling from him, the smoke that snaked inside his soul carried the darkness out of him, trying to push his brother's voices until it reached him.

The old woman really was paving the way.

"Osomatsu. What the hell are you doing?" It was Karamatsu's voice. "Would you really leave us behind? You haven't even owned up to everything you did. You cannot die like this Osomatsu. Listen to me!"

Karamatsu was scolding him. He must have done something really stupid if this brother was telling him these things.

His brothers were crying. He could hear them now, loud and clear after Karamatsu's voice.

Osomatsu never liked to hear them cry or to see him hurt. He cared about them as their brother that his self-loathing could wait for now. He pushed them aside and reminded himself once more that he was the eldest. He had a role to fulfill and a job to do.

— even though he really hated that he had to apologize again.

.

Karamatsu was looking at Osomatsu. His brother's eyes were tightly shut and he could see him in agony with his brothers holding them down with all their strength and weight. It hurt to see him like this but he still tried to focus and talk to him. The old woman told him to keep on talking, to just pull his brother back to consciousness.

The others joined him too but Choromatsu was focused on holding Osomatsu's arm down that he could barely start his litany. If Karamatsu's arms were only better then he might have switched places with Choromatsu. Choromatsu was better at scolding someone.

"Osomatsu. What the hell are you doing?" He said. "Would you really leave us behind? You haven't even owned up to everything you did. You cannot die like this Osomatsu. Listen to me!"

"Osomatsu-niisan!"

"Do you hear that! You're making your little brothers worried. What kind of eldest are you if you make them cry like that!" Karamatsu urged on. "STOP THAT AND COME TO YOUR SENSES!"

"OR WHAT!" Osomatsu suddenly shouted. "Do I have to apologize?!"

The thrashing stopped. All of Osomatsu's strength vanished as he started to whine underneath his brothers. "You guys tried to kill me and I could've died. I was so scared. You all hated me… "

"Osomatsu-niisan we don't…" Ichimatsu then stopped. "we can't hate you…" but his voice was too quiet.

"So do I still have to apologize for that? I was only trying to save you from him. I was doing my best so that none of you would get hurt. So do I have to apologize again because I'm the eldest?" A tear ran down Osomatsu's eye, running down until it wet his ear. "That's so unfair."

"No." Karamatsu whispered with a shake of his head. "I am the one who had to apologize. I am sorry for being so stupid."

Jyushimatsu started to cry right there and then, leaning down until his face was buried in Osomatsu's chest. "I'M SORRY NIISAN! I'M SORRY!"

Todomatsu was shouting his apologies as well while Ichimatsu had been crying so hard that words had failed to form at all.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry Osomatsu-niisan… I'm sorry."

Osomatsu looked at them. 'They are me.' The different versions of him reflected in their eyes. The ones they hate, the ones that annoyed them and the ones they love. He was now who he is because them, shaped by living with each other and being with each other the very moment their hearts started beating.

Osomatsu was sorry. In all meaning and emotions behind that single word. But he was afraid that because he had been using the word too many of times, it had already lost meaning to his brothers.

So he pushed that aisde, thinking that he could still try, he had no idea how else he could tell them how remorseful he felt and how he did not want any of them to hate him.

"I'm… sorry…" Osomatsu cried, "I'm sorry you guys. I'm sorry."

He was not apologizing just because he was the eldest. He was apologizing because he cared.

.

The sun slowly rises, coloring the sky with pink, orange and purple hues that were so beautiful when looking through tear-filled eyes.

Choromatsu extended his hand and Osomatsu grabbed it, pulling himself up.

Osomatsu lifted his gaze forward and saw the old lady. He asked Iyami to take care of his brothers and to go on ahead since he needed to say something personal to the old woman. They were all hesitant but they complied, leaving a small crack on the door and just staying on the other side without really walking down too far. Just in case.

"Boy." The old woman called. "The darkness that looms over you still had not ceased. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"I know. I pushed it aside again."

"You'll grow old faster that way. You should learn to forgive yourself boy."

"I'm still not as old as you, creepy old woman."

The old woman scratched his head. "You have good brothers and you too are a good eldest brother to a fault. Why are you all so stupid though?"

"That's just how we are. I am selfish, I am awful but most of all I am stupid."

The old woman glared at him.

"I know. I know." Osomatsu dismissed that look, "I don't think I can get rid of that easily. I have my brothers as my priority. I can forgive them so easily without even thinking of apologizing to myself. I'm still with them and that's all that mattered."

"That will be the death of you."

"Is that a prophecy?"

"No. Just an observation."

The old woman then walked away from the door and passed by Osomatsu. "Don't worry about it boy, if you ever need me I'm just around the corner. Just make sure that I don't catch you dead before me."

Osomatsu smelled the faint scent of incense. He's not sure if he should have his lungs checked after this, but he was sure that when he turned around the old woman was not there anymore.

Osomatsu opened the door and found all his brothers waiting for him. Iyami had already gone down. They had so many things they needed to explain to the nurses once they go back to Karamatsu's room.

"So what will we tell them?" Todomatsu asked, already thinking of a ploy to escape accusations.

"We'll tell them…" Osomatsu was thinking.

"We played baseball inside!" Jyushimatsu suggested.

"That's a good idea." Osomatsu agreed and everyone chimed in their agreement. Choromatsu was just too tired to argue but Osomatsu looked at him in the eyes, "Then after that, we'll tell them we're sorry."

Choromatsu nodded a bit, seemingly enjoying that answer.

Osomatsu smiled. No one was trying to take him away from them anymore, he was here with them and even if he had not really forgiven himself, maybe someday he could. With their help, he could learn how to forgive this useless piece of shit they love as their eldest brother.

* * *

Authors's Notes:

Hi! This is the end of the story.

Thank you very much for reading the whole thing and I hope you liked it even if it was a bit dark.

Reviews are always welcome! I'd love to hear from you.

This had been quite a story and I enjoyed sharing this all with you.

THANK YOU THANK YOU VERY MUCH!


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